Kettering town centre shoplifting 'out of control' - and it's mostly schoolgirls say store bosses

Kettering independent business owners are being pushed to the edge of closure following a huge rise in shoplifting by schoolchildren – mainly young teenage girls.

Staff at two successful shops – The Bean Hive in High Street and KSN in The Yards – have witnessed the thefts in person or on sophisticated in-store CCTV systems.

Due to the age of the thieves, the businesses owners have been reluctant to hand over evidence to the police but say it’s getting out of control and they need to take action.

Katie Nimmo, owner of KSN, runs a discount clothing business from The Yards in Market Street and has resorted to contacting shoplifters’ parents to get goods returned.

She said: “It really gets me down. We sell things really cheaply. They are top brands and bargain prices and they still steal them.

"When we first opened shoplifting was once a day, we’d get gangs of girls coming in. It’s always kids.

"We contact their parents and they bring stuff back. One girl’s mum was absolutely horrified when we contacted them.

"We have an excellent CCTV system so we can identify people.

"I don’t want people to get a criminal record at 15 or 16-years-old, but it’s getting out of control.”

Stephen Nimmo, who works alongside his sister, said: “I’ve been told by one schoolgirl that they take the things they’ve stolen into school on a Monday morning and do a sort of ‘show and tell’ of things they’ve nicked and swap them.”

Katie added: “We’re a small business. We don’t make millions but we might have to close or just do a one-in-one-out system. It really hurts.”

Bean Hive owner Davina Parkhouse has had a similar experience trying to stop shoplifters from her bijou department store.

She has recently moved around stock and shelves to improve sightlines for staff, introduced a sophisticated ‘state-of-the-art’ CCTV system and has taken on an extra member of staff to crackdown on security.

She said: “It’s out of control and more importantly it’s not sustainable. It’s costing us a fortune and we are a shop of many small traders.

"Ultimately it’s what will shut us. So far we haven’t gone to the schools or the police, but it’s only a matter of time.

"We have subtle shoplifting, it’s not violent, and it’s nearly all girls. What’s worse they are our customers. They love this shop and that’s what’s so gutting.

"They sometimes come in and they are wearing their school uniforms. We know where they are from. They are our customers. They are still buying stuff but also stealing things – we are not a ‘buy one get one free’ business.

“I get it that everyone is broke but it’s hard being a trader at the moment. Being in business is tough and we won’t be here if this shoplifting carries on at these levels.”

According to official statistics for the William Knibb ward that covers Kettering town centre, January to June 2023 showed theft offences were up 19 per cent. There were 39 reports of shoplifting in the central area of Kettering for the month of July this year.